Comments on: What is the role of the library media specialist in a professional learning community? http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=64 All Information, No Commerce Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:17:23 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: dmockenhaupt http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=64&cpage=1#comment-550 dmockenhaupt Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:34:06 +0000 http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=64#comment-550 At Flory Academy of Sciences and Technology, we have been able to schedule a specialist day. All students, from grades K - 5th grade, see me (math specialist), the science specialist, and the technology specialist. Unfortunately, due to the amount of students and time in the day, the students go on a different day to see the library specialist. She often meets with grade levels "virtually" and plans around certain curriculum. This seems to expand upon what is being taught in the classroom. She also checks often with the specialists and will teach certain lessons or read books according to what we have taught. For example, Flory celebrates Pi Day in March every year. Our library specialist does an entire lesson on Sir Circumference and the Dragon of Pi with grades 2nd - 5th grade. It is very enriching. The students then use what they have learned from the literature and apply it in the classroom with Pi experiments. At Flory Academy of Sciences and Technology, we have been able to schedule a specialist day. All students, from grades K – 5th grade, see me (math specialist), the science specialist, and the technology specialist. Unfortunately, due to the amount of students and time in the day, the students go on a different day to see the library specialist. She often meets with grade levels “virtually” and plans around certain curriculum. This seems to expand upon what is being taught in the classroom. She also checks often with the specialists and will teach certain lessons or read books according to what we have taught. For example, Flory celebrates Pi Day in March every year. Our library specialist does an entire lesson on Sir Circumference and the Dragon of Pi with grades 2nd – 5th grade. It is very enriching. The students then use what they have learned from the literature and apply it in the classroom with Pi experiments.

]]> By: Rick and Becky DuFour http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=64&cpage=1#comment-538 Rick and Becky DuFour Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:19:08 +0000 http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=64#comment-538 Principal Cowart, We applaud your scheduling priorities and the fact you've been able to create a schedule that allows all teachers guaranteed & protected time to help students learn those skills, concepts, and dispositions essential to their success and time to learn with and from each other. Please keep us informed of your school's progress on the PLC journey! Principal Cowart,

We applaud your scheduling priorities and the fact you’ve been able to create a schedule that allows all teachers guaranteed & protected time to help students learn those skills, concepts, and dispositions essential to their success and time to learn with and from each other. Please keep us informed of your school’s progress on the PLC journey!

]]> By: sraben http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=64&cpage=1#comment-535 sraben Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:39:36 +0000 http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=64#comment-535 While I did not send the original letter, I believe the issue here is not a concern to meet with all teams. Rather it becomes an issue of flexible scheduling, which is the recommended way of operating a library media function. If the Specialist is scheduled to teach classes during team meeting times, the flexibility of the function is gone. The room and LM specialist need to be available to be scheduled for those times when, in collaboration with a classroom teacher, the LMS can incorporate skills into the rest of the core curriculum. In addition, by scheduling the LMS during team meeting times, the role of collaboration is greatly reduced. Specialist main function is that of a teacher. In order to fully accomplish this, particularly in today's world, they have to operate in a flexibly scheduled environment. This is strongly supported by all the research in the field. While I did not send the original letter, I believe the issue here is not a concern to meet with all teams. Rather it becomes an issue of flexible scheduling, which is the recommended way of operating a library media function. If the Specialist is scheduled to teach classes during team meeting times, the flexibility of the function is gone. The room and LM specialist need to be available to be scheduled for those times when, in collaboration with a classroom teacher, the LMS can incorporate skills into the rest of the core curriculum. In addition, by scheduling the LMS during team meeting times, the role of collaboration is greatly reduced. Specialist main function is that of a teacher. In order to fully accomplish this, particularly in today’s world, they have to operate in a flexibly scheduled environment. This is strongly supported by all the research in the field.

]]> By: dcowart http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=64&cpage=1#comment-531 dcowart Sat, 21 Jun 2008 04:56:57 +0000 http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=64#comment-531 I do not disagree with the role of the library media specialists outlined in the 2008 edition of School Libraries Work! But as an elementary principal with only 6 hours a day (5 hours instructional time) and a very strong union contract, I have been forced to be creative with my scheduling. I have scheduled enrichment blocks for all my specialists to create collaboration time for classroom teachers and special educators. My specialists were not insulted because they were teaching within their area and did not feel like glorified TAs. In addition I blocked off tech. blocks for my library media specialist to collaborate and team-teach with classroom teachers. This to me was the best of both worlds. But the bottom line is I have to have priorities and right now my priorities are in classroom instructional strategies. I need to bring classroom teachers together to look at common tasks and assessments. That is where we need work! I do not disagree with the role of the library media specialists outlined in the 2008 edition of School Libraries Work! But as an elementary principal with only 6 hours a day (5 hours instructional time) and a very strong union contract, I have been forced to be creative with my scheduling. I have scheduled enrichment blocks for all my specialists to create collaboration time for classroom teachers and special educators. My specialists were not insulted because they were teaching within their area and did not feel like glorified TAs. In addition I blocked off tech. blocks for my library media specialist to collaborate and team-teach with classroom teachers. This to me was the best of both worlds. But the bottom line is I have to have priorities and right now my priorities are in classroom instructional strategies. I need to bring classroom teachers together to look at common tasks and assessments. That is where we need work!

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